Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Paula Deen exposes the racism of the "New South"

I’m struggling to express my thoughts regarding Paula
Deen.Now that I’m past my “no she didn’t”
moment, I can share how I really feel about Deen and Southern living.

On center stage is Southern culture and how closely
connected we remain to an ideology that assumes blacks are inferior to whites

Deen’s ouster as a Food Network host attempts to cover
common thoughts and tendencies among those born and reared in a segregated
society.Although Deen, and many like
her, have done the hard work to distance themselves from the mean spirited ways
of their ancestors, some of it still lingers.

Ostracizing Deen by making her a rogue promoting a
racist agenda fails to censure the culture that cultivates that racism.Convicting Deen as a racist may take the covers
off the charisma that made her the darling of Southern culture, but it doesn’t
give space to the need for deeper reflection on what remains after she goes
away.

"I believe that every creature on this Earth, every
one of God's creatures, was created equal," she told NBC's
"Today" show. "... I believe that everyone ought to be treated
equal."

Deen has a different understanding of truth.In her mind, she’s not a racist.In her mind she has been misunderstood and
lies have been told.Deen believes she’s
a victim of a conspiracy to undermine her work and reputation.

In other words, it’s not her fault.

The national debate on Deen involves court documents
that support allegations that she and people in her restaurant have been
insensitive to blacks, women and other minorities.She confessed to calling a man Nigger and to having
used the word more than once.

The discrimination lawsuit filed by Lisa T. Jackson, a
white woman, contends racial slurs about women, Jews and blacks were common in
Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House, a restaurant run by Deen’s brother in Savannah, GA.Lawyers for Deen’s brother filed a motion in
the case arguing Jackson is pursuing race-based claims, but has no standing
because she is white.

The unraveling of Deen’s empire bares before the
public the behind the scenes culture of a Southern restaurant.It’s clear that something is amiss in Deen’s
kitchen, but could it be that the work environment in many Southern kitchens
follows a long legacy of mistreatment of black employees?

Is the culture of “The Help” still enforced in the
South?

If so, on trial here is Southern culture and the
assumptions regarding race and privilege.Maybe Deen, and others like her, believe their contention that they are
removed from the grip of race.Maybe
Deen doesn’t believe she is a racist because her form of racism deviates from
the form she knew as a child.Maybe the
movement away from the old model of racism leaves many convinced they aren’t
racist.

She’s not racist, she just calls people Nigger.

Racism doesn’t look and act like it did when Deen was
a young person growing up in the South. But if it looks like a racist, it is a…..You
know the rest.

Racism hides under positions of privilege and
power.It robs people of their culture
and voice and claims it as its own.Southern cooking is the creation of the former slaves.Deen’s wealth entrenched in a long history of
black cooks who fed those who kept them entrapped to protect their power and
privilege.Those old cooks watch as
people like Deen take ownership of their culture as if they crafted it themselves.

Racism is about owning what doesn’t belong to you due
to the power and privilege needed to promote it in a way that separates you
from those on the bottom.Racism is calling
people Nigger when your wealth and reputation is built on what they have given.

Racism is the celebration of a culture of exclusion.Jackson's lawsuit claims Deen wanted to plan
a party in the style of a Southern plantation, staffed with black waiters
dressed to resemble slaves.Racism is
not knowing that desire is racist because Southern culture makes that fantasy
normative.

On trial is the evolution of racism. Transformed
racism is found among white liberals unable to concede their racism.They invest time to prove they’re not racist,
while refusing to acknowledge how their position of power and privilege discounts
the contribution and work of black people.They take the fried chicken and make it their own.They reap the advantages that come with race
while preventing a black person from getting what they receive.

All while refusing to concede the benefits afforded
them due to their racial privilege.This
is the new racism.

Deen is a good white woman who loves black folks.Behind closed doors she calls them Niggers
and wishes for days when she was served by black people.

She’s not a racist. She’s a Southern woman living
within a culture that continues to take advantage of the power and privilege
afforded her because she’s white.

"I believe that every creature on this Earth,
every one of God's creatures, was created equal," she told ... I believe
that everyone ought to be treated equal."

2 comments:

It may be that this is particularly true for Southern culture, but note that the sales of her cookbook skyrocketed after this controversy was exposed. There are plenty of people all over the U.S. who think the way Deen does. They just don't express their racism as colorfully as she does.

I moved to the Deep South (South Carolina) three years ago. I'm now searching for a job elsewhere, ANYWHERE that isn't here. The clueless racism demonstrated by Deen is commonplace, & a disturbing number of those who have those views consider themselves good Christians, patriots, and the fabric of America, such that the rest of the country should strive to be like them! I and my family can't wait to get back to a real world state!

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina